Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Purchases 32,103 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 455,735 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,103 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.09% of Franklin Resources worth $10,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $710,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 708,050 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $21,093,000 after acquiring an additional 147,497 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 1st quarter worth $1,538,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Resources during the 4th quarter worth $49,547,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 583.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 199,225 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,600,000 after buying an additional 170,089 shares in the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Franklin Resources

In other Franklin Resources news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.80 per share, with a total value of $4,560,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 88,703,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,432,777.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 24.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BEN opened at $20.95 on Friday. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.60 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.47 and its 200 day moving average is $24.49.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The closed-end fund reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 10.24%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BEN. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Franklin Resources from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Franklin Resources from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Franklin Resources from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.90.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.